TVS Electric Vehicle launch plans put on hold - Report

TVS Motor Company's electric vehicle launch plans in India is held in abeyance, reports The Hindu. The company will instead focus its energies on rolling out BS VI compliant two-wheelers ahead of the government set deadline of April 1, 2020.

The TVS iQube scooter has been in the news, with some speculating that it would be TVS's first hybrid vehicle.

Addressing stakeholders at the 26th AGM (Annual General Meeting), Mr. Srinivasan said -

Electric vehicles don’t make any economic or commercial sense now. So, the focus will be only on BS-VI. It is the biggest challenge for 2018-19. No country has moved from BS-IV to BS-VI directly. Globally and environmentally, we will be on par with others.

Interestingly though, at the AGM last year, Mr. Srinivasan had broached the company’s plans to launch hybrid vehicles by December 2017 and electric two-wheelers by March 2018 in the domestic market. The Hosur-based company had also showcased the TVS Creon Concept electric scooter at the Auto Expo 2018 in February.

Mr. Srinivasan believes that BS VI will be a significant disruption in the domestic market and the company is set to have BS VI compliant vehicles six months in advance to the date set by the Supreme Court and the central government.

TVS Motor Company was reportedly developing an electric version of the Jupiter (pictured) for the Indian market.

That said, the company continues to work on developing hybrid technology. According to Mr. Srinivasan, the development has reached a mature state, with advanced brake system technology for improved safety.